Match-box



(No Model.)

R. WALLACE.

MATGH BOX. I -N0. 274,864. Patented Mar. 27,1883.

277 n inn-e127? N PETERS Phowmho m mn Washinglom D. c.

"UNIT D STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT WALLACE, OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT.

MATCH-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,864, dated March 27, 1883.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT VVALLAOE, of Wallingford, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in MatchBoxes; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connecliOH with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a perspective view; Fig. 2, a transverse section.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of match safes or boxes which are designed to be carried in the pocket. It is necessary or desirable in this class of matchboxes that it shall provide some convenient surface upon which to strike the match. This is usually done by simply roughening some part of the surface; but as this roughening is exposed to wear in the pocket, and as the metal a is generally soft, particularly so in the case of silver, this roughened surface quickly wears away and becomes useless as a means for lighting the matches.

The object of my invention is to construct a pocket match-box with a roughened surface upon which to strike the matches, which shall be protectedfrom wear, and without materially changing the shape of the box; and it con- .sists in constructing the box with a groove in its surface substantially concave in transverse 1 section, as more fully hereinafter described.

A represents the body of the box, and B the cover of a wellp-known shaped match-box-that is, a thin flat box which will occupy but little space in the pocket. On one edge I form a groove, C, which preferably extends the length of the body and top, as seen in Fig. 1. This groove is substantially concave in transverse section, as seen in Fig. 2, so as to produce a projecting rib, a, at each side of the groove.

Application filed J annary 1], 1883. (N0 model.)

This groove is best made by striking inward that edge of the box, preserving the general outline of that edge, as seen in Fig. 1. This surface is roughened by any of the well-known methods. The hollow or concave shape producing the edge projections, a a, prevents contact of articles in the pocket with the surface of the groove, and thus avoids the usual wear thereon, and which destroys that surface. The

shape of the groove also affords a guide in striking the matches, so that when the match is first struck upon the surface it will not glance off, as it frequently will do on the usual flator convex surface. This groove may be made on the top or on the bottom of the box, according to the taste of the manufacturer or requirements of the trade.

The great advantages of my improvement are the protection of the groove, the guide for the match, and that the general shape of the box is not changed.

I do not wish to be understood as claiming, broadly, or safe of a recessed character; but I am not aware that before my invention a match-box has been made from metal in which a groove has been struck into the metal of the box from the outside inward so as to produce a roughened surface in said groove, and the edges of the groove serve as a protection for that struckin surface.

I claim- The herein-described match-box, consisting of the body for the reception of matches, and the cover, and having a groove struck into the outer surface to produce projecting edges, the surface between the projecting edges roughened, substantially as described.

ROBERT WALLACE.

a roughened surface on a match box. 

